The present invention is generally directed to a baking oven including at least one internal surface which is provided with a high emissivity surface treatment or surface coating.
There are numerous known types of ovens for cooking, and in particular baking, food products. These different types of baking ovens are generally suited for different end users or applications, including, but not limited to, ovens for personal use, ovens for commercial use in restaurants, and ovens for commercial food production. Ovens for commercial food production include direct fired tunnel ovens, steel band ovens, steel plate ovens, direct fired tray ovens, indirect fired tunnel ovens, and the like. One particular type of known oven, which is particularly applicable to the present invention, is a direct gas flame (DGF) oven.
One of the primary objectives in the field of baking ovens is to ensure that there is an even application of heat to the food products being baked therein, thereby ensuring uniformly baked food products. Different mechanisms have been utilized to satisfy this objective. For example, some known baking ovens utilize controllers to continuously monitor and adjust the temperature in the oven. Others utilize specific materials to form the walls of the oven. For example, Reading Bakery Systems, Inc., the assignee of the present application, manufactures and utilizes a DGF oven including a brick ceiling. The brick ceiling exhibits high heat storage as well as superior radiant heat application to the food product which passes beneath the ceiling. However, one drawback of this known oven is that the bricks may fail after a certain duration of use by cracking and flaking which, in turn, may result in the brick ceiling material being deposited onto the passing food product.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a cost-efficient and durable baking oven which provides even radiant heat distribution throughout the internal cooking chamber of the oven to consistently produce evenly cooked food products, and which avoids the possibility of contamination of the food products baked therein.